


B-612

by firecat



Category: Le Petit Prince | The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Expanse (TV)
Genre: Gen, Laughter, asteroids - Freeform, photosynthesis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27629003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecat/pseuds/firecat
Summary: The crew of theRocinanteinvestigate a strange new asteroid.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18
Collections: Froday Flash Fiction Little & Monthly Specials 2020





	B-612

**Author's Note:**

> for Froday 100th Special prompt 72: asteroid

“I don’t remember this asteroid being here before,” said Alex, lounging in the pilot’s chair of the _Rocinante._ Holden and his crew were between crises for the moment, so there was time for a little sight-seeing.

“It’s so small!” said Amos, peering at the heads-up display over Alex’s instrument panel. “More of an asteroidilette.” 

“That’s...very poetic of you,” mused Holden.

“I have depths, Captain.”

“Looks like no one’s claimed it yet. Shall we have a look?” suggested Naomi. “It might have water or some other useful resource.” She bent over a workstation and brought up a technical readout. _“That’s_ odd. An asteroid this small shouldn’t have an atmosphere!”

Holden looked up, alarm creasing his features. “Holy shit. You don’t suppose the protomolecule has something to do with this?”

“Not only does it have an atmosphere, it has photosynthesizing plants,” Naomi remarked, continuing to peer at the technical readout. “And two active volcanoes.”

“Volcanoes, on an asteroid this small?” Alex put in. “Is it a metallic, like Psyche 16?”

“No,” said Naomi, frowning with puzzlement. “Specs say the composition is similar to Earth’s crust.”

Amos was pacing the cabin, and he wandered past Naomi. “If I ordered a general to change himself into a sea-bird, it would be my fault for ordering him to do the impossible,” he muttered. “What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

“What?” asked Naomi. “What’s that from?”

“Book my, uh, mom used to read me,” said Amos.

“Oh, that’s sweet!” she said. “You haven’t talked about your mother before. What book?”

But Amos had clammed up, and Naomi knew she wasn’t going to get any more sweet reminiscences from him. 

“If you had the protomolecule, you probably could change the general into a seabird,” mused Holden, his mind continuing down a single track, as usual.

“More likely to change ’im into a tentacled monster,” remarked Miller.

Holden jumped. Miller, hat rakishly askew, was looking over Naomi’s shoulder at asteroid’s data. 

_“Shhhtuppp,”_ hissed Holden. He ignored Amos’s raised eyebrow. He hated it when Miller appeared when other people were around. No one else could see Miller, and Holden didn’t like providing his crew with evidence of just how crazy he was.

“Hey, which of y’all sent one of our probes to the surface of that asteroid?” asked Alex. “We don’t have an infinite supply of those, y’know.”

Amos looked around with those wide, deceptively innocent eyes. “What are you talking about?” 

“I’m picking up sound,” said Alex. “So someone must have sent a probe. Unless there was one already down there.”

“Let’s hear it,” said Holden.

The sound of a little boy laughing filled the cabin.

“Hey, bring up the probe’s camera feed,” Amos said to Alex.

“Why?”

“I want to see if there are any roses.”

**Author's Note:**

> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_612_(The_Little_Prince)


End file.
